There are many ways to go about curbing illegal downloading. You could sue your fans, but that doesn't work. Your lobbyist group can pressure internet service providers to spy on users who are torrenting, or you can write out a well-thought message explaining how it hurts the artists. An anonymous fan asked Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato if the band would prefer that the fan download their album illegally, and buy a shirt or just buy the album. Greg couldn't have answered more eloquently.
“Hey dude, just wondering about where the music as a physical product sits with you guys now. To exchange money, what’s best for you as an artist and me as a fan? Should I buy your album on iTunes? Download it for free and buy a t-shirt to make up for it? How does it all work these days?! Note: I bought your albums.
Anonymous
Hey I took this pair of shoes for free but it’s cool ‘cause I bought a coat right?
Do whatever you want….but the root is the music. THAT’s the most important…not a shirt. They are separate. We’re not forcing anyone to buy our music or our shirts. If you want one, that’s separate from the other.
Nobody’s doing us a favor by buying our shirt after they took our album. We’re not artists pandering on the side of the street hoping for someone’s “charity”. This is what we spend our LIVES doing, we spend MONTHS recording and up to a year writing.
Ethically, taking it for free is always wrong….even if you’re massive…but when you’re not a household Walmart name as a band…it hurts particularly more because every album is a greater sized fraction of the total. If people want “alternative” art, or smaller scenes, genres, or bands to be able to exist at a professional level of quality, they should treat them professionally and intellectual property with the same respect as tangible property.
As a listener it just doesn’t even make sense anymore to download music for free if digital is the way you wanna go. It’s way faster and more convenient to get it from Itunes or as a direct download from the artist, the prices are way lower than CD’s were in the past and you don’t have to pay shipping or drive to go and get it.
If you don’t care about “owning” the MP3’s, then use Spotify or something. There’s just really no excuse for bankrupting a scene or band you’re into anymore. If people care about the art that they like existing, then this attitude is important to adopt across the board.”
The Dillinger Escape Plan is currently in the studio working on new material, so this topic is surely fresh in Greg's mind. And I like that he encourages fans to check out Spotify and services of that nature. I really feel like in 10 years, music will be so ubiquitous, so easy to attain, that there would be no need for illegal downloading.
Additionally, it's quite interesting because a lot of bands have said they don't get any royalties, so buying merch is better for the band, but there are of course, other factors to consider. As a band like Psyopus has pointed out, first week sales of new albums determine a band's place in the current marketplace, when it comes to the type of tour offers they recieve, placement on tours and other important factors in a band's career.
So, in conclusion, if you like a band and their music, buy their damn album the first week!
